It was never on anyone’s 2024 bingo card that Vice President Kamala Harris would be a guest on a Gen Z podcast — especially not Call Her Daddy. Hosted by Alex Cooper, the podcast features interviews with notable people (largely from pop culture, including celebrities, reality TV personalities, and TikTok stars) and covers a wide range of topics, including “taboo” subjects like sex, trauma, and mental health. So when Cooper announced Harris would be a special guest on the Oct. 6 episode of Call Her Daddy, the internet went nuts — and when the episode actually dropped, it was an immediate viral sensation.
Many people expressed excitement and congratulated Cooper on the huge career milestone in the comments section of Call Her Daddy’s social media posts about the episode. However, many others shared their disappointment. Some listeners criticized Harris for doing the podcast when a large portion of the country was suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. They also called out Cooper for not having former President Donald Trump on the podcast and for favoring one political party over another. (However, ICYMI, she clarified on the podcast that she has reached out to Trump to invite him for an interview).
Cooper attempted to address listeners’ concerns and contextualize the reason for having Harris on her show. “I’m so aware that I have a very mixed audience when it comes to politics, so please hear me when I say my goal today is not to change your political affiliation,” Cooper said in the episode’s introduction. “What I’m hoping is that you’re able to listen to a conversation that isn’t too different from the ones that we’re having here every week.”
Still, many people have questioned why Harris, who has done very little press during her campaign, would choose Call Her Daddy in the first place. Luckily, Harris answered that question herself in the interview, telling Cooper, “I think you and your listeners have really got this thing right, which is one of the best ways to communicate with people is to be real, and to talk about the things that people really care about.”
The fact is, Harris’s Call Her Daddy episode is further proof that her campaign is largely centered around women — particularly, young women. Cooper’s podcast is, according to Spotify, the most-listened to podcast among young women, so Harris’s choice to go on the podcast alone shows her dedication to this demographic (especially compared to Trump’s chosen platforms, many of which are male-dominated, such as Logan Paul’s podcast IMPAULSIVE). But just as important — if not more so — are the topics that she chose to discuss during the interview, as she largely spoke about issues crucial to young women voters.
Chief among these issues is reproductive justice, which is a huge topic this election year following the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the nationwide spread of abortion bans. In an exclusive letter to Her Campus readers, Harris reminded young people that “one in three women throughout America live under a Trump abortion ban” and that young women and girls in the U.S. “now have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers did.”
Harris shared similar viewpoints on Cooper’s podcast. “You don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree, the government shouldn’t be telling [a woman] what to do,” she said. “If she chooses, she’ll talk to her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but not the government telling you what to do and that’s what is so outrageous about it. A bunch of these guys up in these state capitols are writing these decisions because they somehow have decided that they are in a better position to tell you what’s in your best interest than you are to know what’s in your own best interest. It’s outrageous.”
She went on to speak about reproductive healthcare clinics, abuse and women’s safety, and the fact that she doesn’t have biological children. One of her most-quoted moments came after Cooper read her a quote from the Republican Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders: “My kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.” When asked for her response, Harris said in part, “I don’t think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who are not aspiring to be humble.”
Beyond women-specific issues, Harris highlighted her plans to alleviate the financial struggles of young people as she provided her public policy plan that includes working with “home builders in the private sector to create tax incentives to build … 3 million more housing units,” provide “$25,000 down payment assistance for first time home buyers,” and give tax cuts for middle and low income families.
It has become abundantly clear that the 2024 presidential election is turning more and more into a “gender election.” A poll conducted by the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Siena College found that in Pennsylvania (a noteworthy swing state in this election), 57% of women are more likely to vote for Harris in comparison to the 40% who are inclined to vote for Trump. For men, the results showed almost the opposite: 53% of men are more likely to vote for Trump and 42% are likely to vote for Harris.
As the gender gap widens in this election season, political analysts are seeing that women are a crucial group of voters in this election. And regardless of how you feel about Harris or the choice for her to appear on Call Her Daddy, it seems like the vice president is willing to face down controversy in order to prove to voters that she’s in this for the girls.